KABUL — The
Taliban celebrated the first
anniversary of the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan Wednesday with
victory chants and a military parade showcasing equipment left behind by US-led
forces.
اضافة اعلان
Afghanistan’s new rulers — not formally
recognized by any other nation — have reimposed their harsh version of Sharia
(Islamic law) on the impoverished country, with women squeezed out of public
life.
Despite the restrictions, and a deepening
humanitarian crisis, many Afghans say they are glad the foreign forces that
prompted the Taliban insurgency left after a brutal 20-year war.
“Since the Americans left there is no war and
that makes us happy,” Kabul shopkeeper Naseer Ahmad Safi told AFP.
“Business was good when foreign forces were
present, but it will get better again. It’s been only one year of the Islamic
emirate.”
In a statement, the government said the day
marked “the country’s freedom from American occupation”.
“So many mujahedeen were wounded, so many
children orphaned, and so many women became widows.”
The authorities held an official celebration
that included a military parade at Bagram Airbase, the nerve center of US
operations during the war.
Groups of Taliban fighters — dressed in
traditional shalwar kameez and carrying rocket-propelled grenades — marched as
helicopters flew by, video footage aired by state television showed.
Minutes later, dozens of military vehicles
including humvees and artillery tanks, seized in the war or left behind by
US forces during their chaotic withdrawal, were paraded.
Foreign media outlets were not given access
to the event.
Celebrations were also held in several
provinces, with locals reading poems and verses from the Quran.
In Kandahar, the Taliban’s de facto power
center, hundreds of the group’s fighters chanted victory slogans as they drove
through the area in convoys.
Victory
chants
Banners
celebrating victories against three world powers — the former Soviet Union and
Britain also lost wars in
Afghanistan — flew in Kabul.
Hundreds of white Taliban flags bearing the
Islamic proclamation of faith flew from lamp posts and government buildings,
while squares in the capital were decorated with lights.
Kabul residents chose to stay indoors after
the authorities declared a national holiday, but hundreds of Taliban fighters
gathered at Massoud Square, next to the now shut US embassy.
“Death to America! Death to occupation! Long
live freedom!” chanted the fighters as many performed a victory dance.
“The flag of Islam is flying high. We are
happy to live under the banner of Islam,” fighter Shah Ahmad Omari said.
The plane carrying the last US troops took
off from Kabul at midnight as August 31 began last year.
That departure ended America’s longest war,
which began in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the US.
More than 66,000 Afghan troops and 48,000
civilians were killed in the conflict, but it was the deaths of US service
members — 2,461 in total — that became too much for the American public to
bear.
“The burden of the war in Afghanistan,
however, went beyond Americans,” the US military said Tuesday.
More than 3,500 troops from other NATO
countries were also killed.
Thousands of civilians were also killed in
horrific bomb and gun attacks by the Taliban during the war.
‘No
good memory’
Two
weeks before the end of last year’s withdrawal, the Taliban seized power
following a lightning offensive against government forces.
Taliban social media accounts posted videos
and pictures of newly trained troops — many flaunting equipment the US military
left behind.
“This is how you troll a superpower after
humiliating them and forcing them to withdraw from your country,” read a tweet
with a photo of a giant Taliban flag now painted on the wall of the former US
embassy.
Despite the Taliban’s pride in taking over,
Afghanistan’s 38 million people face a desperate humanitarian crisis —
aggravated after billions of dollars in assets were frozen and foreign aid
dried up.
Hardships for ordinary Afghans, especially women,
have increased.
The Taliban have shut girls’ secondary
schools in many provinces and barred women from many government jobs.
They have also ordered women to fully cover
up in public — ideally with an all-encompassing burqa.
“There is no good memory of the past year. I
have to think twice about what to wear before stepping out, to avoid a beating
by the Taliban,” said Marwa Naseem, a female Kabul resident.
“It also hurts to see that girls cannot go to
school, which is part of a normal life anywhere. The Taliban is using religion
just to prevent women from progressing.”
But government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid
last week claimed there had been “major achievements” in the past year.
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